Is it better to launch an app in the U.S. and Canada at the same time ?

Is it better to launch a mobile application in one country before another country. I've heard both arguments, one being first to the market is the key. the other being launch in U.S and canada to avoid copy cats in the other country.. my plan is global but don't know where to start. thoughts?

Yeah we launched our app in a small country (Thailand), where facebook ad dollars were REALLY cheap, got a lot of user feedback before we officially launched in the US. So we could have a better product. Depending on the app markets outside the US can be more lucrative cause ad buys are cheaper and less competition if you do good localization.

Hi there,based on my experience, you can launch your app in many countries at the same time. Just as Matthew Campbell mentioned, you should do good app localization before launch.

App localization is the process of adapting your app to a particular language and culture, it has huge positive impact on your app visibility in app stores. Most people prefer to find and install apps in their native language.

When you localize your app, what you should remember is that app localization is not a translation of an app, translation being a small part of the entire process. It’s about language, culture and other geographic references. You should take legal requirements, currency, numeric, date and time formats, icons, symbols, colors, graphics or ideas that in a culture can be misinterpreted into consideration.

Big games companies tend to do soft launches frequently. But if you do follow that path of soft launching, it should be as Dirk mentioned, with the objective of launching soon on the other markets.

If you wish, we can extend this conversation privately.

Cheers!

Anonymous

April 22nd, 2015

I'd say launch first in Canada, see how the app performs (crash reports via Crittercism or Crashlytics) and what user feedback you get. Improve the app, and then 2-4 weeks later launch also in the USA with a marketing campaign.

Brice Salmon
Founder and Project Manager at Glasgow Studio and Baltic Club

April 25th, 2015

I've heard from the CEO of Ululab this week on a panel that they've first launched in Thailand and NZ for the same reasons Matthew Campbellsaid above.